Root has been a part of the Android community for years and years now, and it was looking like Android Q wouldn’t be the end of it. However, just a few hours after the first beta for Android Q launched, it’s been discovered that getting root access on the latest version might be a bit more difficult than anticipated.

The best gifts for Android users

John Wu, the developer behind Magisk, tweeted some bad news tonight for root fans. Apparently, it could be a while before Android Q is successfully rooted. While he was able to root an early build of the OS just this month, things aren’t going so well for the beta version.

Apparently, Google switched Android Q to logical partitions for the system block, leaving no simple way to mount the block. At first, Wu thought he might have to rebuild Magisk from scratch to get things working, a process which he expected could take “months” just to get it to boot on Q.

Luckily, after taking another look at things shortly after, Wu found his first clue to implementing Magisk on Android Q. In another tweet, he explains some of the things Google changed in Q from the ground up, including “completely changing” how the system works with root access.

Bad news: Android Q root won’t come anytime soon. Android Q has switched to logical partitions for the system block, which means there is no easy way to mount the block by any means. I’m currently thinking of what tricks can I do other than implement everything from scratch….

— John Wu (@topjohnwu) March 13, 2019

It will take me an extreme amount of time to figure out how to workaround all this mess. I won’t expect Magisk to be even able to boot on Q in months.

— John Wu (@topjohnwu) March 13, 2019

Sigh… Google really like to rewrite things over and over again. So far I found out:1. Completely changed how system as root works2. Stop using DTBO for normal boot3. Stop appending DTB after kernel4. Stop placing fstab into DTBAnd the journey continues…..